Lily instantly stiffened in his arms, shocked by the sudden intimacy. Her first instinct was to shove him away, but then his words registered, and she felt the solid warmth of his body surrounding her. Her heart trembled, and all her resistance melted. She let him hold her, let him pull her even closer with his demanding embrace.
"Lily, I'm so sorry," he repeated, his voice raw. "Please forgive me."
With Lily offering no resistance, Marcus, lost in the moment, pressed his advantage. He buried his face in the curve of her neck, his breath warm against her skin. She felt a powerful wave of his masculine energy wash over her, his comforting scent enveloping her completely.
Thinking of the man behind her, the man who was finally holding her as she had always dreamed, Lily's heart ached with a bittersweet joy. A single, silent tear rolled down her cheek.
In that moment, she surrendered completely. Her graceful body went soft, all its strength leaving her, and she leaned back gently, tenderly, against his broad chest. She yielded to his embrace, allowing him to dominate her body, giving him permission to do as he pleased.
Feeling the soft, full weight of her body pressed against him, Marcus slowly brought his lips to Lily's cheek. He saw the tear tracks glistening there and gently leaned in, using the tip of his tongue to taste the salt of her tears. He looked deeply into her misty eyes, his voice dropping to a husky whisper. "Lily, I'm so sorry. Please, just forgive me. This is all on me."
He meant every word, needing her to believe him. And damn, the sight of her flushed cheeks and that delicate neck sent a jolt straight through him. He was hyper-aware of every curve of her body, but he somehow kept himself in check.
"Marcus."
That was all it took. His apology shattered the last of her resistance. The tears she'd just stopped started falling again, a fresh wave she couldn't hold back. Her hands, which had been resting lightly on his back, slid up to lock tightly behind his neck. She crushed her mouth to his, her gentle tongue yielding completely.
"Holy crap!"
A sharp shriek cut through the moment. It was Amber, Marcus's sister, back from her grocery run. She stood frozen in the doorway, one hand slapped over her mouth, staring at the scene.
"Whoa, okay! Nothing to see here! My bad!" Amber stammered, her own face turning scarlet as she registered their embarrassment. She spun on her heel and beat a hasty retreat back out the door.
Jolted back to reality, Lily pushed against Marcus's chest, stumbling out of his embrace. She stood there stiffly, her face burning a deep, mortified red. "Marcus, you need to go! This is terrible! How am I supposed to even look at her now?"
'You have got to be kidding me,' Marcus fumed. Amber had literally just promised to give them some space, and now she'd come back and blown it all to hell.
"Seriously, just go! I have to start dinner. This is already so awkward," Lily insisted, seeing he was still rooted to the spot.
His luck had officially run out. He couldn't just plant himself there like a creep. He leaned in quickly, stealing one last, fleeting kiss before he ducked out of the kitchen, leaving a completely flustered Lily behind.
'I can't believe my idiot brother actually went for it,' Amber thought, her heart still hammering. The image of her brother and Lily locked together was burned into her brain, making her own cheeks feel hot.
'He was holding her so tight.' Lily had looked so… happy. So secure in his arms. He's never held me like that.' A treacherous thought flickered: what would it feel like to be the one he was holding? A sharp, unexpected pang of envy pricked at her.
Thinking about them together, a sudden sadness washed over her. 'Soon, his whole world would be Lily. What about me? Where does that leave me? Will I still matter? Will I still be his little girl?'
A cold dread started to coil in her stomach, the fear that her brother was slipping away for good.
'No, Amber, get a grip,' she scolded herself, shaking her head. 'He will always be my brother. That will never change. I'm not going to let anyone else in. I'll always be his.' She made the promise to herself, a firm, secret resolution.
"Way to go, big bro! Showing some real game for once!" Amber said, giving him an exaggerated thumbs-up as he emerged from the kitchen.
"What was that, Amber? You were supposed to be gone for like, an hour," Marcus asked, the irritation plain in his voice. His perfect moment was officially wrecked.
"Alright, I'm gonna go help Lily with dinner. I'm starving!" Seeing he was gearing up to lecture her, and knowing she was totally in the wrong, Amber quickly dodged around him and slipped back into the kitchen.
'That little pain in my ass. She always manages to come out on top,' he sighed to himself.
—
"Oh, man... This is incredible."
Lily's cooking was next level. Marcus wondered if she'd been secretly trained by some culinary guru. He'd had her food before, but it never felt like enough. The simple, amazing thought that he could now eat her cooking every single day filled him with a deep, quiet contentment.
Hearing his praise, Lily shot him one of her angelic smiles, enough to make his heart stutter. Unbelievable food, and an unbelievably beautiful woman. He sighed with pure satisfaction. With a life like this, what more could a guy possibly want?
"Uh... hang on a sec... who made the scrambled eggs?"
"I did! Why, what's wrong with them?" Amber answered, her voice a mix of pride and instant defensiveness.
'Knew it.'
"Nope, nothing's wrong. They're great," Marcus said. No wonder the eggs had a… unique, slightly 'off' flavor compared to the other dishes. But seeing the hopeful look on Amber's face, he forced himself to swallow the bite without another word.
"Bro, is that the Dominion headset? The one from all the ads? You're actually playing?"
After dinner, Marcus was slumped on the couch, stuffed and happy. He was scrolling through Lily and Amber's vacation photos on his phone, completely engrossed.
He looked over to see Amber inspecting his Pro VR Headset. "Yeah, I've been on since the public beta launched."
"For real? Is it as awesome as it looks? I wanna play!"
"Play games? You need to be focusing on school. No way," Marcus said, automatically switching into overprotective big-brother mode.
"Hello? I'm a college freshman! I'm an adult. I'm not in middle school anymore. I can handle it!" Amber shot back immediately, planting her hands on her hips.
"Freshman year is when you build your habits. The answer is no."
"Lily, are you hearing this?" Amber wailed, turning for backup. "That is so unfair. He gamed his whole way through college, but I can't? How does that make any sense?"
'Ugh... damn it.' He was busted. He was in zero position to lecture anyone about responsible life choices, given his own college career was a four-year gaming marathon.
"Please? I promise it won't mess with my grades. I'll only play in my free time, I swear! We can all play together! Lily, you'll play too, right?" Amber was now glued to his arm, rubbing her head against his shoulder and giving him the world's most pathetic pout.
"I am so screwed.' The pout was Amber's ultimate weapon, a move that had a near-perfect success rate. And honestly, the idea of playing with both of them was pretty appealing.
"Fine," he conceded with a sigh. "But you are on probation. Your grades slip even a little, and the headset is gone." He knew Amber was sharp; school was never the real problem.
"YES! I knew you'd cave!" Amber immediately threw her arms up in a victory V, spinning around in a little dance.
"Lily, we can play with him now!" she cheered. "We can keep a close eye on him in the game and make sure he doesn't try to flirt with a bunch of digital hussies."
'What the hell is she talking about? Am I really that much of a sleaze?' The thought of Amber cockblocking his virtual love life made him realize that letting her into the game might have been a catastrophic error in judgment.
'Well, shit. No take-backs now.'
"Come on, let's go get the headsets right now!" Amber immediately hooked her arms through his and Lily's and started dragging them toward the door.